I’m not very focused on baking, so when I want to bake something with apples I find myself in a quandary, as I don’t know which are the best for baking. In my experience, some apples are reduced to mush by the baking process. Others hold up but don’t taste great. Then there are those that are just right: fruity and soft, with a good amount of acidity, that remain intact after baking. As I’ve moved around the country, I’ve discovered that there are different apples available in different parts of the country. From here on out I will keep a record of good baking apples. To begin, I’m going to use pre-published lists, but I’ll make changes and update my list as I form my own opinions about different types of apples. Let me know in the comments what apple varieties you enjoy cooking with!
If varieties are recommended that aren’t available to me locally, I’ll be relying on the taste and suggestions of others (and I’ll let you know when that is the case).
Thus far, recommended baking apples include Granny Smith, Pippins, Cortland, Empire, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Jonathan, with more to come.